Naples….astonishing sites and of course exceptional pizza, but watch out for those crazy scooters.

We arrived in Naples on February 9th, after an unassuming train ride down from Rome.

There was some nice countryside, but I thought we would see more cute villages or maybe some vineyards. The train was for the most part quiet and empty.

We made the good decision to take a cab from the train station to our Airbnb, after we were warned many times not to drive in or around Naples. Those warnings were accurate! Our cab drive even scared me a little bit, and I grew up and spent most of my life driving in Los Angeles. The cab driver sped through little, narrow streets avoiding the crazy scooters that were everywhere. More on them in a little bit. I will say there are way more scooters in Bangkok, but the scooter riders in Naples are crazier!!!

Our host told us to have the cab driver drop us off on the top of the hill above the apartment, because it was even too difficult for a cabby to find their way.

The host was right. Fortunately, the host carried one of our suitcases down the 100 steps to the alley below….no kidding, I counted. Then to a cool, old building, that thankfully had an elevator almost to the top. Just two more flights of stairs from the top of the elevator and we arrived at our penthouse over Naples. The unit was a little small, but had some decent amenities and had most of what we needed, except for heat in the bathroom…burrrrr. The reason we selected this unit was the striking view in all of the pictures, which did not do it justice (look for the pictures). The views were absolutely stunning….you could see all of Naples, over the bay and towards Sorrento and the volcano, Mt. Vesuvius.

The first evening was cool but mostly clear, so the views were extra special. The host left us a nice bottle of wine, some cheese and crackers. Nice touch.  

That evening, we bundled up and went walking through the narrow alleyways of the old Spanish Quarter. We found a great pizza place…..ok, not too hard to do in Naples. Unfortunately, I got the idea to have anchovies on my pizza, and they were way too overpowering. I smelled anchovies on my hand for two days!!! :) I thought Jos was going to gag just from smelling the pizza. We then went back up to our penthouse… it really was a penthouse….tallest unit in our building with unobstructed views. We then watched a beautiful moon over Naples and the bay.

We awoke the next morning and went up the crazy steps to the street above us and found a nice little coffee spot. We found others that were better, but it was close and we needed the espresso. It was a very busy street with shops, grocery stores, cafés, etc. Then we headed back down and thru the Spanish Quarter to the waterfront to visit the Castle on the bay that we could see from our apartment. We then walked a bit through the city, to see some sights and find one of the famed pizza places that we read about. It was a failed attempt, as all

of the acclaimed pizzerias were absolutely packed with a crowd of people outside and hours wait…so, we found a non-famous pizza

place which had wonderful pies and good Aperol Spritzes and wine. We then

kicked back at our place to watch the sunset and see the clouds over Mr. Vesuvius.

The next day we walked (yes, you guessed it) back up the 100 stairs to walk through some old back alleys and up to Castle Sant’Elmo, fortified on the hilltop way above our place. We decided to tour it, and Wow, it was amazing. You could see the entire City, mountains, several of the offshore islands, and down the coastline. There were only a handful of people in the entire Castle….it was nice to just walk around alone and enjoy the views and history. After that we (actually, Jos) found a cute little pizza joint, and we had a nice, quiet lunch at the window looking out over the cute street and row houses. (see the great oven photo…..Jos making pizza!!) Later, we went to dinner at a raucous place in the Spanish Quarter….the waiters stood in a group sharing candy (large bars of chocolate), getting amped up before the big dinner rush….singing and having fun. We tried to eat later, like Italians do, but even our late was early in Italy.

After a very nice meal and great house wine, we went walking back towards our

little oasis in the sky. I think on that night every scooter in Naples was out…..it was scooter mania through the alleys. These riders are crazy….sometimes up to 3 on a scooter, they went zooming through the narrow alleys at 40+ miles per hour, with cars and people everywhere. It was anarchy!! Jos was very entertained by the chaos. We made it back after only a few misses.

We decided the next day to go see Mt. Vesuvius….we planned out a train ride to the other side of the volcano and were hoping the shuttle bus was running. Naples, unlike Rome, has really bad public transit. Do not try to catch a bus: they never come! After a few misses, we finally took a cab to the train and were on our way around the mountain, but when we got there, no shuttle. We were in a little town that looked as far away from the top of Vesuvius as we were from our place in Naples. So, we decided to return to the City….one of our

rare failed attempts to find what we were looking for…..

That afternoon we tried to dry some laundry outside, but the wind and cold hampered (ha, ha) our efforts to get things dried out, so we moved them inside with the heater. We

then sat out on our beautiful rooftop deck and drank Aperol spritzes, wearing gloves, hats, and jackets. Still chilly in Feb! Another great evening overlooking the City.

The next day, we walked down to the waterfront to meet our tour van…. and we were off for a wonderful day touring the Amalfi Coast!!! See separate post.

It was overcast on the 14th as we made our way over to Museo Cappella Sansevero to see

amazing marble sculptures, including the famous “Veiled Christ” and others. It

was a small, yet very packed space with sculptures and murals everywhere. Thank you for the recommendation, Bohdan!

Afterward, we ate at another great pizza place that Jos found and then walked around that part of the City and into another art gallery….with some famous and cool paintings. After another great meal, we enjoyed another view over the City before retiring for the evening.

For our last full day in Naples, we walked around, and I got a haircut from at an old-school barbershop. The men (no women allowed), wore black suits and white shirts. I was able to explain to the barber what type of cut I wanted (along with a few pictures

of an early cut from my fantastic hair stylist in San Francisco). We tried to communicate a bit about our travels and his life in Naples. I had a lot of fun and think he enjoyed having someone from out of town. A great hair cut!!!

We then had another nice lunch, with a very delightful bottle of red, followed by a walk around the waterfront. The people watching was amazing…. you will see a few photos with this post and many more in my upcoming fashion blogs. The outfits were crazy….80s flashback, risqué, wild costumes, the jet setters, etc. Our last dusk from our rooftop perch…just the two of us and a lovely evening

of wine, baguette, and cheese.

We departed by train on the bright sunny morning ofFebruary 16th, heading for Sicily. Our wonderful host arranged a cab for us… and it picked us up right outside our

door…… didn’t have to climb 100 stairs back up to the main street!!! We enjoyed

espresso at the train station, then departed for our 9 hour train ride.

Our first destination in Sicily was Taormina, an ancient city dating back thousands of years. The train ride through the fields, around the mountains, and down the coast was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. Time flew by on this train. One more surprise was in store for us…..when we arrived at the bottom of the Italian boot, the train stopped, was separated into two train segments, then loaded onto a ferry (yes, I said the train was loaded onto a ferry!!!!!). The ferry took us across to Sicily, where our train headed South to Taormina, and the other West to Palermo. We arrive in Taormina just before sunset. Can’t wait for pizza in Sicily!!!